1. Technical Field
The present disclosure is directed toward apparatus, systems and methods for facilitating installation of a conduit system within a structure e.g., a building. More specifically, the present disclosure is directed toward apparatus, systems and methods that facilitate installation of a conduit systems, e.g. HVAC conduit systems, that extend, inter alia, between levels of a building or other structure, wherein the apparatus, systems or methods include a structural unit configured and dimensioned to define and maintain an opening during the construction process and a cover to controllably block or substantially block the opening, e.g., for safety purposes.
2. Background Art
During the construction of a building or other structure, it is common to leave openings through the floors of the structure through and within which a third party, e.g. an HVAC sub-contractor(s), will, at a later date, install a conduit system for the air conditioning and heating units. These openings are often times also used to facilitate the transfer of material from floor to floor and thus, if safely and correctly maintained, can be beneficial to the overall construction process.
Currently, the formation and maintenance of floor opening carries with it many inherent disadvantages and problems as well. Conduit systems often times will traverse the full height of the structure, making such openings potentially hazardous to workers above and below alike. The current extent of safety measures employed in this particular art is generally limited to covering the opening with a plywood board or its equivalent.
The conventional approach to the situation carries with it many clear risks and disadvantages. For example, a board may be improperly fixed (if at all) to the floor during the installation process. Indeed, a periodic need to work through the opening may require that the board be movable relative to the opening, thereby increasing the potential risk of inadvertent and/or undesired displacement thereof. Such displacement increases the risk that individuals and/or objects will fall through the opening. Furthermore, union policies could encumber the process of replacing a displaced board; e.g. by limiting the body of qualified parties who may do so.
Beyond the potential unreliability of conventional boards in preventing workers and/or objects from falling through such openings, conventional approaches to forming/defining an opening in a floor, e.g. to facilitate subsequent HVAC installation, generally involve construction of an upstanding wooden frame mounted on top of a wooden sub-floor/deck. The height of the frame generally constructed so as to permit the pouring of cement/concrete to a desired depth/thickness onto the wooden sub-floor/deck and around the frame. After the cement/concrete hardens the wooden sub-floor/deck and frame are removed, e.g. chipped away, leaving behind the finished cement/concrete layer and defining an opening there-through. This process carries with it many clear disadvantages. I.e. the construction and removal of the wooden frame can be costly, time-consuming. and generally, inefficient. With respect to HVAC conduit systems, it is important to note that fire code regulations often necessitate a careful and thorough removal of the wooden frame.
In view of the clear limitations of conventional approaches to forming and maintaining an opening in a floor during construction activities, a need clearly exists for improved apparatus, systems and methods that enhance safety. In addition, apparatus, systems and methods are needed that are easily, efficiently, and reliably used to form and maintain an opening in a floor, e.g., an opening configured and dimensioned for receipt of an HVAC or other conduit system. Apparatus, systems and methods that satisfy the above-noted parameters and simultaneously comply with all applicable building code requirements are also needed.
The foregoing needs are satisfied by the disclosed apparatus, systems and methods disclosed herein, as will be apparent to persons skilled in the art based on the narrative description, particularly when read in conjunction with the appended figures.